CURLING: USA men jump out to 2-0 start at 2008 World Juniors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 2008 USA men jump out to 2-0 start at 2008 World Juniors (OSTERSUND, Sweden) - The Chris Plys rink has jumped out to a 2-0 start at the 2008 World Junior Championships after holding off Scotland's Glen Muirhead rink, 8-6, Sunday night. Plys (Duluth, Minn.) and teammates Aanders Brorson (Duluth, Minn.), Matt Perushek (Eveleth, Minn.), Matt Hamilton (McFarland, Wis.) and Daniel Plys (Duluth, Minn.) defeated Norway's Kristian Rolvsjord rink earlier in the day, 9-4, with a pivotal steal of two points in the eighth end. In tonight's match, Team USA scored four points in the fourth end to grab a 5-2 lead and never let up. The Scots scored three points in the seventh end to pull within one point but the Americans scored one point in the ninth end and ran the Scots out of rocks in the final end. With the 2-0 start, the American men are tied for first place with Switzerland. Team USA's Nina Spatola rink is now 0-2 after falling behind early to Scotland's Eve Muirhead rink for an eventual 9-5 loss this afternoon. Spatola (McFarland, Wis.) and teammates Becca Hamilton (McFarland, Wis.), Anna Plys (Duluth, Minn.), Jenna Haag (Milton, Wis.) and Karlie Koenig (Waukesha, Wis.) gave up four points in the opening end but scored three points over the next two ends to keep it close. The Scots, however, answered with their own three points in the following two ends to keep the Americans at bay. In the opening draw of the event, Spatola's team fell to Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa rink, 7-2, after giving up steals in four straight ends. The round robin continues through Thursday. Live scoring from the event can be found on the USA Curling website at www.usacurl.org. Line scores: Men: USA 002 020 32X X 9
Norway* 010 102 00X X 4 USA 010 402 001 X 8
Scotland* 101 010 300 X 6 Women: Japan* 000 121 12X X 7
USA 110 000 00X X 2 Scotland* 400 210 011 X 9
USA 012 001 100 X 5
*last stone in first end Standings: Men: Switzerland 2-0
USA 2-0
Canada 1-1
Denmark 1-1
Germany 1-1
Norway 1-1
Scotland 1-1
Sweden 1-1
China 0-2
Czech Reb. 0-2 Women: Denmark 2-0
Norway 2-0
Canada 1-1
Germany 1-1
Japan 1-1
Russia 1-1
Scotland 1-1
Switzerland 0-2
USA 0-2 USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, AmerAust Technologies and Nike as well as by AT,T through a joint marketing program with the U.S. Olympic Committee. (30) For more information: Terry Kolesar, USA Curling, terry.kolesar@usacurl.org, 715-344-1199, Ext. 202, or 608-338-9900 (cell).